Morgan's Lie
by Ruthabellaaa
Summary: Morgan told his family a lie and it's caught up to him. Based on the episode "The Company" S7 E20. Contains spanking so don't read if this bothers you.
1. Chapter 1

"What did you do to her?"

The door of the interrogation room opened quietly and Hotch stepped inside, calling a calm end to the interrogation. "Morgan."

"No. No, you didn't have enough time to dispose of the body properly and we _know_ that and we _will_ find her!"

Hotch stood a little straighter, speaking louder and add a little more steel to his voice to snap his teammate out of his fury. "Morgan, out."

Morgan ignored him, determined to say what he had to say to the man before him. "And when we do, I will personally nail your ass to the wall. That's what time it is, bitch!"

Morgan was breathing hard, muscles coiled tightly and ready to launch themselves at the man sitting smugly before him. He forced himself to turn and leave despite the taunting words aimed at his retreating back.

"Is it 10:30 now? Bet it is. Yeah. Feels like 10:30."

Once he was out of the interrogation room with the door closed firmly behind him, he rounded on his boss with a steely glare. "What was that for? I was in control. I wasn't going to hurt him."

Hotch met his gaze without flinching, pinning him with a look that was a clear mix between empathy and disappointment, until Derek's shoulders slumped a little in acknowledgement of his authority. The older profiler sighed, unfolding his arms. "Someone's retained a lawyer on Malcolm's behalf." He explained calmly, not wanting to rile his friend up further.

Morgan's jaw dropped before he regained control of himself. When he spoke in disbelief, it was obvious that he was making use of every shred of patience to keep from losing his temper. He'd always been fiery and passionate, and the guilt compounded upon his worry for his cousin was fraying at the edges of his nerves. His team could see it, even if he couldn't. "How? He didn't invoke."

A quiet voice, determined voice spoke out behind them and Derek felt like he'd been sucker punched in the gut. "I did."

He turned slowly, feeling relief rush through him as he saw her there in person, unharmed.

"Cindi. Oh, my God."

"Stop." Derek eyes drifted from Cindi to her 'husband's' lawyer at the gunshot sharp command and glared fiercely. Before he could combat the order, the smaller shrewd looking man continued arrogantly, "You're not to speak to her or Malcolm Ford without me present."

Morgan reacted without thinking through the fine line they walked in their profession. Who was this man, who thought he could tell Derek what was right for his own cousin? How could they just _stand_ there and pretend nothing was going on? Morgan tried to stay calm, but guilt was bubbling away under the surface and before he knew it he'd stepped forward with his fists clenched.

"What the hell is this?" He growled, eyes holding a steely glint that made the man standing in front of Cindi flinch a little. Then he was speaking again in that voice that made Morgan feel like bees were buzzing around his brain in a swarm. The room seemed to be empty aside from the two of them, like a tunnel that they were trapped inside with no access to the outside world. "You're holding my client on suspicion of kidnapping. As you can see, the victim is alive and well."

"Kept against her will." Morgan ground out, blinking as the world came crashing into perspective around him. The background hustle and bustle in the breakroom could be heard down the corridor and the sound of his blood rushing through his veins filled his ears. Stale coffee filled his senses, but none of that mattered because what Cindi said next was like a knife to his heart.

"No. He's my husband. Now, drop the charges."

He could hear the hint of pleading in his voice when he spoke next but he couldn't stop them. This was his baby cousin and he couldn't protect her if she was defending the monster next door.

"Cindi. Why are you doing this?"

Cindi took a deep breath, meeting his gaze sadly. "Because I love him."

Before Morgan could try and get through to her, the lawyer spoke again and Morgan knew he had to find another way to get his cousin back. He'd already pushed his luck tonight, and he knew Hotch was going to give him a sharp review of his actions when they had time to talk. They're boss wasn't a man who shouted, but he could knock you down a few pegs with some well thought out words. Morgan hid a grimace and tried to focus on the conversation taking place in front of him. "We've been clear that we would like all charges dropped."

Prentiss seemed to sense he couldn't carry the weight of being profiler fielding this particular conversation, and stepped in smoothly to save her colleague further distress. "We still have some questions about John Hitchens."

The lawyer didn't miss a trick. "And Mr. Ford has explained that the gun that Hitchens used to shoot himself was stolen. He even filed a police report. So, what else do you need to know?" He asked smugly, offering them a knowing smile.

Prentiss leaned over to speak to her colleagues with a sigh. "We need a new plan."

Rossi sighed, resigned. "We can't hold him." He pursed his lips thoughtfully, opening his mouth with a fresh suggestion on his lips. "There's one more thing."

Before he could finish, there was a commotion behind them as Cindi's mom came bustling into the corridor, tears filling her eyes. "Wait!"

Cindi swallowed, stepping back nervously and shaking her head. "I can't talk to you."

"No, no, it's okay." she insisted, stepping towards her with a quick glance at Morgan. "I trust you.

Baby, Let me just let me just look at you." the older woman whispered fondly, reaching out to hug her daughter quickly, "What has he done to you?"

Cindi tensed, taking a quiet breath before repeating herself yet again. "He loves me."

Mrs. Morgan sighed, trying to hold back tears as she listened to her daughter's forced words. "You call that love?" she questioned in disbelief, brushing a gentle hand through Cindi's hair.

"I have to go," Cindi insisted, stepping back and turning towards the door. "I have to make him dinner."

Her mom put a hand to her lips, tears silently streaming down her cheeks as she shook her vehemently. "That's not her." she whispered, shoulders shaking as despair overtook her. She turned to Morgan with heartache so strong it nearly overwhelmed him in her eyes. She didn't need to tell him she blamed him as she spoke her next words, because he could see it in her eyes, "That is inot/i my daughter…"

Before he could speak, she turned and fled the room, taking solace in the arms of Morgan's sisters while he stood outside the room and tried to think of something -ianything/i to say to make this better. Honesty had always been central to his family's values though, and although he'd been trying to protect them, he knew his lie had torn them apart instead. His family ignored him to one side while his team inadvertently were sidelining him on the other because he'd failed at both his jobs in life. He shook his head and turned away angrily, determined not to cry.

He knew he needed to face Hotch, but the head profiler had made it clear a few minutes before that he was to stay well back from Mr Ford. Morgan was surprised Hotch hadn't found him yet. As a team, they couldn't afford to give each other the cold shoulder, so it was a surprise to him that Hotch hadn't just temporarily suspended him. He iknew/i he could take down that son of a bitch though, if only he had a chance. He wanted this guy behind bars and he desperately wanted his cousin back. Nothing was going to stop him, Hotch be damned. If they took him off the case, he'd damn well do it himself… He sighed, forcing himself to role a little of the tension from his shoulders, and went to find himself a coffee. It was going to be a long night.

center *** /center

Rossi watched Morgan outside the room his family was hiding out in, frowning thoughtfully. It didn't take a profiler to recognize that guilt was tearing up his friend. When their resident 'tough guy' disappeared in search of coffee, Rossi went in search of their team leader.

Hotch looked up from his conversation with local law enforcement when Dave stepped inside.

"Sorry to interrupt gentlemen. Hotch, you got a minute?"

Aaron nodded, suspecting he knew why Rossi was there. "Of course. Could you give us a few minutes? Thank you."

Hotch and Rossi waited until the officers left the room before turning to one another. "What's going on?"

"It's Morgan. We need to do something, Hotch, he's falling apart."

"He was totally unprofessional this evening and it could have caused considerable difficulties down the line."

"He's trying to save his cousin. We can't honestly say we'd do things any differently if it was our family on the line. We've both been there, and we both know we'd do anything. Remember?"

Hotch grimaced at the reminder of his wife and son's abduction at the hands of the Reaper. He hadn't managed to say Hayley despite doing everything he could to get to her on time. And he knew Rossi had been through similar when his ex-wife was killed not long before. It was the death of Gideon's love interest that had tipped him over the edge and into a tailspin and he had been one of the best profilers the BAU had ever seen. Emotions didn't stand back for the sake of professionalism and unfortunately Aaron Hotchner knew that well.

"Alright, so what do we do? If I take him off the case he'll just do something rash, but I can't let him loose in the field when he's behaving so irrationally."

Rossi thought for a moment, eventually sighing. "I have an idea."

Hotch raised his eyebrows, waiting for his old supervisor to continue.

"This is hugely personal for him. He's let his family down, and nothing anyone says will take that back. He needs to feel he's paid the mistake he made in lying to them, and he needs help clearing his head and purging his emotions enough to be able to do his job and protect his family. Besides, he knows he's screwed up and lost his temper on the case. When I was growing up back home, things were a little more… old fashioned. My family had a real life woodshed, if you get my meaning. And I know for a fact. Gideon had a similar upbringing."

"Rossi, you can't seriously mean…"

Rossi held up a hand to quiet him, smiling tiredly. "Just hear me out. Look, I know it isn't ideal and I know he's an adult in a very responsible job. But right now he's overwhelmed and angry and hurting and he needs someone to take the reigns and help him find his focus again. He needs his team to come alongside him and show him he's not been abandoned because of one stupid mistake. Besides, you know him, Aaron. He's a patient man, and he doesn't lose his temper usually. If guys like him lose their temper, they could seriously hurt someone. Reasoning with him isn't going to snap him out of it because there'll be adrenaline coursing through him right now, and I know for a fact I wouldn't want a physical fight with him to help him ditch the excess energy. It'll work, trust me. The profile fits."

Aaron was silent for a few moments as he considered his friends words and weighed up his options. Rossi did have a point. They were the top profilers in America, and probably the world, they generally didn't make mistakes about these things. Morgan wouldn't like what Rossi was suggesting, but Hotch had a feeling their colleague would accept it, and would take it in stride. The BAU were a family in everything but blood, and although they needed to press on with this case and put all their attention into finding and helping Cindi, they needed Derek alongside them in order to succeed. Nobody on their team knew Cindi better than her cousin.

Eventually he sighed, nodding. "Alright. I don't see how we'll do it without embarrassing him further though."

"Leave that to me. Unless you want to handle it?"

"Not particularly. Though, as his boss, I do feel responsible for addressing his professional attitude earlier."

"Alright, so we can both go. Prentiss and JJ can hold down the fort while we're otherwise engaged."

Hotch frowned. "What about Reid He'll know something's up."

Ross waved away his concern. "The kid's smart, I'd be shocked if he didn't notice. So, we just tell him the truth. We're going to speak to Morgan about the case and how he's been approaching it. Reid won't suspect anything more than that and it would be an insult to his intelligence to hide something so obvious to the boy wonder."

"Alright. Let me speak to those law enforcement officers first. I could be a while."

"We don't have a while, Aaron. Let me deal with Morgan, I'll send him to speak to you when we're finished. You don't need met out anything else, but I imagine one of your little lectures will make an impression and the consistency will help keep him steady amongst all the unrest he's facing just now. I won't be long. I have my phone on me if you need me."

Rossi stood up and took his leave with a grim smile. Hotch watched him go and sighed, taking a moment to slump in his chair and listen to the sounds filling the air around him before standing and going to find the officers he'd been talking to before Dave came to speak to him. He was already counting down the hours until he could find a couch to catnap on. He just hoped they could wrap this case up without too much more drama.

center*** /center

Derek swore as the vending machine rejected his coins again and slammed a hand against the machine in frustration. He stilled when a cup of steaming coffee and a candy bar appeared beside him. "Here, kid. Long night at the office, huh?"

Derek nodded silently, gratefully accepting the cup. It was just the way he liked it. Rossi pretended to be laidback about everything, but it was moments like this that reminded Morgan why he was one of the most famous profilers in the BAU's history. Rossi didn't miss a trick.

David smiled, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder. "Why don't you take a walk with me? We could both do with a few minutes away."

"I can't. Rossi, I… This is all my fault. I screwed everything up."

"Did you kidnap her?"

"Well, no. But…"

"Then I don't wanna hear it. Look, I know you screwed up. You shouldn't have lied to your family, and you shouldn't have lost your temper in the interrogation room. But that's life. Come on, let's go somewhere private."

Morgan glanced at him uncertainly but nodded slightly, shooting a quick look around the room to check nobody was watching them before following the shorter man's relaxed route through the building to a quiet room. He watched in confusion as Rossi pulled the blinds at the window, unsure what was going on. "Uh, Rossi? What…?"

"You know, when I was a kid, our family was pretty tough. My Mom didn't take any crap from us, she had too many children to take care of and she couldn't afford to be chasing us up over dumb things like lying or running off on some hair brained stunt. And God forbid we disobeyed her, or really any of the people who raised us."

Derek shrugged. "Well, sure. My family were close too. We… I mean, my Dad was working a lot so it was down to my Mom and aunts to look after us most of the time. If we messed around when my Pops wasn't home, we sure knew about it when he was… I only ever lied once that I remember, and I got in so much trouble that I swore I'd never do it again. The way my Aunt looked at me… I broke her heart, Rossi."

Rossi nodded thoughtfully, leaning back so he could rest one hip against the desk. "Mm… Sounds like you could do with some tough love right around now. Lemme guess. She's looking at you like you kicked her puppy and you _want_ to make things better and the only way you know how is to get Cindi to come home. You can't just click your fingers and make it better Morgan. That's not how life works unfortunately." Rossi could see Morgan tensing and getting defensive and smiled in reassurance. "Relax, let me finish. We _will_ get her back, Morgan. I don't care how much we have to chase Ford and his company, but we will find her. We won't give up. So you need to quit trying to fight this battle yourself and let us _help_ you. No man can carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. Do you hear me?"

Morgan sighed, running a tired hand down his face. He was exhausted, physically and mentally. He couldn't just give over the last shred of control he had in the situation though… Squaring his shoulders, he turned a look on Rossi, hoping that his eyes could convey the sincerity of the pain and frustration he felt. "Rossi, I gotta…"

"What you've got to do is listen to me. Now. No more arguing, or doing anything dumb. No more flyaway temper. If you keep this up, Hotch is going to put you in one of these rooms under lock and key, just so you can't try to play vindicated hero. You listen to me because I won't repeat myself tonight. This is not only your battle. Your team and your family are here and we will support you. You birth family will be here cheering you on, regardless of the anguish they feel at the judgement call you made last year. You are going to straighten those shoulders and put all your focus into nailing this guy. But first, you're going to answer to me for the choices you've made of late."

That shut Morgan up. He stared at Rossi in shock for a few moments, scrutinizing him as his mind tried to work through what Rossi was saying. The room was quiet, the door blocking out the familiar bustle of a police station deeply amidst the solving of a crime and the only scent distracting him was that of the coffee. Eventually he relaxed a little. "What are you suggesting?"

"Like I said, kid. Tough love. If I'd made the choices you have recently, I'd have taken a trip to the woodshed for a feel of my father's leather. I'm not trying to substitute for your father, but you need someone to step in here. Hotch was keen to come and deal with things himself, but he was needed with the lieutenant so he's going to have words with you when we're finished here. I know it's not the most orthodox methods, but sometimes out of the box works best. I'm going to take my belt to you and then it's done and we move on. The sooner we have you without distractions, the quicker we can knuckle down and bring Cindi home."

Rossi had been expecting Morgan to go up against him, and was almost dumbfounded when the younger profiler nodded grimly. "Alright. Okay. Where…" Morgan broke off and winced, closing his eyes and taking a calming breath. "Where do you want me?"

"Bend over that desk, lose the slacks. You can keep your boxers up. I get that it may hurt, but you stay bent over and you remain respectful for the next few minutes. Understood?"

"Yes sir." Morgan agreed quietly. This wasn't his first rodeo, although it had been rare to get his ass handed to him this way as a kid, especially after his Dad died. His mom just couldn't bring herself to do it, so she'd come up with other methods for he and his sisters. He stepped over to the desk where Rossi sat, unbuttoning his pants and letting them fall unceremoniously before bending over and gripping the desk. Rossi stood, reaching out to pat his back.

"Good man," he praised quietly. He unthreaded his belt from its loops, bending the taut leather over in his hand and catching the buckle easily. He'd never really been in the position of meting out discipline like this, aside from once with Gideon, and a small handful of times when Hotch was a fresh faced agent needing a little support and guidance, but it felt natural to hold the belt that way. He took a moment to prepare himself, adjusting his hand on Morgan's back so it was resting more firmly, then raised the belt.

It fell with a sharp crack, and Morgan barely managed to suppress a grunt. It had been years and he'd forgotten how awful this position was. Rossi was patient and methodical, landing stripes down his colleagues backside as far as mid-thigh before beginning again. He didn't speak as he brought the belt down, figuring everything that needed to be said had already been spoken. Morgan remained quiet for the first two rounds, but was soon huffing and grunting with each new fiery stripe that landed.

Rossi continued until he saw the almost imperceptible change in Morgan's posture and heard his breathing alter slightly. He knew Morgan didn't really wear his heart on his sleeve, so knew the tears were genuine signs of remorse. Deciding they had one final round to go, he pushed Derek down slightly more and swung down a little harder, landing a sound dozen to his thighs and the undercurve of his backside, before stopping and fixing his belt. "Alright, we're done. You did good. No more beating yourself up or wallowing in self pity now, it's finished. You make your apologies and then you pull your head out the clouds and do what you do best. You profile this son of a bitch and you work out what we're missing. We are going to find Cindi tonight, we can do this. Shush, take a moment and then sort yourself out. There's no rush."

Rossi left a reassuring hand on Morgan's neck until his friend bent to take a tentative hold on his dress slacks and bring them back up over his burning glutes. He brushed at his eyes, grimacing at the residual moisture he felt, before giving Rossi a tired smile.

"Alright, kid?"

"Yessir. Uh, Rossi? Thanks…"

"Anytime, kid. You just tell me if you need me to step in, that's what family do. I should thank you too…"

"For what?"

"Not fighting me. I thought things would go a lot worse than they did."

Derek shrugged, grinning sheepishly. "It wasn't the first time I'd been in that position. My temper's always been a little, uh, fiery. I'm a passionate guy…"

Rossi chuckled. "Now, why doesn't ithat/i surprise me, huh? Trust me, you're not the only one."

"Now that's a story I'd like to hear…"

"Maybe on the plane home. As much as I'd like to tell you some stories in solidarity, we have a job to do and a case to solve. Wash your face then I think you need to go and have a word with Aaron. I'll speak to your Aunt and you can go and explain yourself to her however you need to. And then? Then I want my top criminal behavior profiler back in that break room working his ass off to solve this case. We clear?"

"Crystal. You're a good man, Dave. A good friend."

"It's mutual sentiment, Derek. Now, enough of the mushy stuff. Let's get back to work. We've got some serious ass to kick."

Morgan grinned, relieved to see things back to normal. He dried his eyes and took a long sip of his coffee, savoring the taste of the hot fragrant liquid as it slid down his throat. He followed Rossi back towards the others, taking a moment to rub his backside gingerly. The next few minutes with Hotch wouldn't be fun, and the few following it with his family would be even worse, but for the first time in days Morgan felt like his world was actually spinning along the right axis.


	2. Chapter 2

Hotch glanced up from the file he was reading at the quiet knock on the door, not surprised to see Morgan stood in the doorway looking awkward. "Morgan."

"Hotch. Um, you got a minute?"

"Sure. Come on in. Close the door behind you, the others won't be back for a few minutes."

Morgan managed to smile. "Yeah, heh, Rossi said something about showing them something…"

Hotch nodded. It figured his old supervisor would make sure they weren't disturbed for a few minutes. "Good. Sit down then."

Morgan swallowed nervously, reminding himself that he'd messed up and he needed to face the man he looked up to eventually. Silence stretched out for a couple of minutes until Morgan cleared his throat and glanced away. "Look, Hotch… I…" He broke off, rubbing at the back of his clean shaven head while he tried to get his thoughts together. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lost it like that. I thought I could just get under his skin and end all this if I went in there. I should have known he'd win…"

"Morgan, stop. He hasn't _won_ anything. We are going to take this guy down, and we are going to win. You let him under your skin, but we'll get the last word. That said, I was appalled by your lack of professionalism tonight. Not just in that interrogation room, but faced with his lawyer. Morgan, what were you thinking? We can't talk to lawyers with our fists. We can't curse and swear at them. We might think they're the scum of the earth, but we have a job to do. This job isn't just profiling the bad guys, it's filled with politics and emotional mind fields. Most of the time, JJ and I can field the politics and the media, but I need the members of my team to make that job a little easier on us. I need you guys to step up. What if the media had happened to witness your lack of control tonight, mm?"

Morgan looked at his hands, internally cringing. "I could have ruined our chances of finding her… Hotch, I swear, it won't happen again… I… If you want me to sit this one out then I understand. I don't trust myself right now, so I understand that you don't trust me. I can't be a hero."

Garcia's earlier words on the phone echoed in his head and he grimaced. Damn, why did his Baby Girl have to know him so well? He was torn from his musings when Hotch cleared his throat, and realized he'd missed his boss' response.

"Did you hear me?"

"Uh…"

Hotch sighed. "Look, Derek, I know how much this is eating at you. I know you regret lying to your family, even though it was to protect them. I've been there. It tore Hayley and I's relationship apart because I couldn't be honest about this job, and I used that as an excuse. Don't make that mistake. You have a wonderful family who loves you. You'll get past this. But from now on, you better be honest, with them and with me. This team functions on honesty and teamwork. If I can't trust you to be honest with us then I can't afford to have you on the field. I understand that seems harsh, but it's the reality. I expect you to be honest and I won't stand by and let you disregard the core values of our team. From what I can tell, your family feel the same way. You need to be honest with them, even if you can't tell them anything. If you can't give them an answer, be honest about that. They'll respect that kind of heartfelt care far more than cloak-and-dagger protection."

Hotch waited for Morgan to nod sincerely before continuing, meeting his eye with steely resolve. "As for the incident with Ford… In future, if you can't control yourself or you feel your resolve slipping, you leave that room. Not after you've finished shouting, straightaway. You can always go back in and finish off later, but you can't take back doing something in the moment that you later regret. You are a great man and a fantastic profiler, and I do not want to see your career fall apart because of a rash moment of temper. That said, I think it's best to keep you out the interrogation room for a couple of cases, until I'm sure you can handle the pressure and that you're back on a level emotionally."

"Yes sir. I understand."

"Morgan, you're a highly valuable member of this team; both professionally as and a member of this family. I won't sit by and let our team fall apart. If you're struggling, with anything, you can _always_ talk to me. I hope you realise that."

"I do, Hotch. I just forgot it for a while. Thank you, really. I mean it."

Hotch nodded, giving him a smile. "Alright, good. I think Garcia was looking for you, she said something about your Aunt asking to see you."

"My aunt? What did…?"

"What she does best. She told me I was to tell you that you better get your head out of its bubble and make the best of all her hard work or she'll 'kick your ass into a whole other world'. I think she means it. She's probably waiting for you outside, I think they thought I was going to kill you."

Morgan grinned, wincing and reaching a hand down towards his burning backside. "Mm, I think Rossi got that award tonight. I hope you two aren't going to get any ideas from this…"

"That depends."

Morgan looked at him in disbelief. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, it depends if it worked. If I see an improvement, I could be convinced to take a less official view of these things. I guess time will tell, Dave always has been a little more fluid than the FBI would advise."

Morgan raised his eyebrows, chuckling at Aaron's returned stare. "Hey, maybe he'll tell me ithat/i story later too. I guess I better… Uh, shout me if you need me. I shouldn't be long. Thanks, boss."

Hotch offered him one of the rare smiles of their unit chief, letting it rise all the way to fill his eyes, nodding in dismissal. "Good luck. And Morgan, I promise you we'll find her. We won't rest until this case is finished."

Morgan nodded, blinking back grateful tears and went to find Garcia and his family. Hotch followed a few minutes later, watching with a smile as Morgan tearfully began to fix the rift with his family. He grinned as the younger profiler's Aunt scolded her nephew, all while hugging him fiercely. Garcia was in the fray too, ganging up on her favourite chocolate bear and providing him with a safety net as he faced his terrified family and explained his logic.

He became aware of a presence beside him and knew without looking that it was Rossi. Neither of them spoke, comfortable in the silence. They watched as another piece of the puzzle fell into place for Morgan and a little more of the tension left his shoulders. By the time he came back to them, he had a fresh cup of coffee and a determined glint in his eyes that hadn't been there before.

"Let's nail this son of a bitch." He determined, rolling his shoulders and stepping towards the whiteboard in the room showing them all their current leads. His team shared knowing smiles and moved across the room to help him. They had their criminal behaviour profiler back and they were ready to do what they did best.


End file.
